Email Behind the Scenes

<p>Many creators know the ins and outs of authentication, spam traps, BIMI, and listbombing. And if you’ve been creating for a while, you probably understand best practices for email strategy and creative tips for encouraging engagement. But what about the basics? Do you really understand what happens to your email after clicking “send”? Most creators don’t, and there’s a strong case for shifting that statistic. </p><p><br></p><p>When a tool helps you earn a living, it’s important to have a general understanding of how that tool works from a technical standpoint. Email is no different. The inner workings of email are complex and understanding those complexities helps you improve your strategy, ask better deliverability questions, and stay calm when unexpected issues arise. So if you think technical know-how is irrelevant and only for the computer programmers of our world, think again. </p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss technical complexities behind clicking “send”, how inbox providers determine where your email lands, what ESPs like ConvertKit really can control, and why understanding email basics sets you up for deliverability success. </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></p><ul> <li>[03:22] - Knowledge is power, and when you’re a creator depending on email for your livelihood, having a technical understanding of email can only help you.</li> <li>[03:57] - There are many steps between when an email is “sent” and when the email reaches the inbox of your subscriber. This back-and-forth conversation between the sender and the recipient is complicated but only lasts several seconds.</li> <li>[06:34] - Once a message is sent, there are still things on the recipient’s end that can cause deliverability issues. Once sent, an email is either accepted (delivered) or rejected (bounced). </li> <li>[10:32] - Once delivered, the mailbox provider has to consider several factors before determining where your email will land. </li> <li>[18:48] - Once a message is delivered, you can